Friday, December 17, 2010

SUPREME COURT NO TO NEUTRALIATY IN PARLAIAMENT VOTING

Kathmandu, 18 Dec.: A three-member special bench of the supreme court, two day’s before a call for a special parliament session by Maoists and five other parties, ruled Friday parties can’t stay neutral in voting.The bench also ruled sole candidate for prime minister Ram Chandra Paudel, vice-chairman of NC can’t be declared elected unopposed and he must be voted through majority in parliament.NC was demanding Paudel, who is also parliamentary party leader, be declared unopposed.The bench delivered its verdict in response to a public interest litigation filed28 September challenging a provision that allowed parties to stay neutral in voting.A successor of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who resigned 30 June on Maoist pressure, hasn’t been elected in 16 rounds of parliamentary voting.Maoists said they’ll push for election of Nepal’s successor and amendment in parliamentary rules for election of government chief.NC and parties supporting it decided Friday to foil Maoist strategy.nnnn

TARA AIR ON DEFENSIVE

Travel Light Pvt Ltd. chartered the flight through a chartered agreement for a one-way flight from Kathmandu to Lamidada.“..to return from Lamidada to Kathmandu, when a chartered flight was bought for 18 passengers, according to the passenger list presented by the travel company it’s normal practice to prepare logistics and during checking before boarding the passengers from the language, dress and otherscircumstances looked Nepalis, “the private carrier said in a press statement Saturday.But 19 passengers and three crew members were killed when theTwin Otter slammed against a 9,000 ft. cliff in Okhaldunga this week.A top delegation has come from Bhutan to take home bodies on Bhutanese pilgrims killed in the crash.Post-mortem of bodies is still being conducted at TU Teaching Hospital delaying the handover of bodies and parts to near and dear ones. Tara Air said the aircraft; maximum takeoff weight was 12.500 pounds and during takeoff from Lamidada in Khotang to Kathmandu its takeoff weight was 12,280 pounds. A five-member probe team headed by former Director General of Civil Aviation Authority Medini Prasad Sharma was formed Friday to investigate the crash and report in 90 days.The travel agent that booked the flight saying passengers were Nepalis has been arrested for tax evasion. ICAO’s Asia-Pacific Office Director Moktar A. Awan Friday expressed concern with Prime Minister Nepal at the increasing frequency of air accidents in Nepal.Two turboprop aircraft and a helicopter have crashed in 2010 over Nepali skies.American, Japanese and British tourists were killed in a crash in the monsoon.Nnnn

SLC EXAMS

Kathmandu, 19 Dec.: This year’s SLC examinations will begin 24 March, according to the Controller of Examinations. The examinations will continue for eight days.Nnnn

MEDIA GOOGLE

‘Anyone is writing against anyone without evidence. I can also get someoneTo write against you, can’t I?”

Lalitpur, Dec. 17 - Chief Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha Friday said that the government was not serious about implementing the orders and decision of court, which he said, had hampered on forcing good governance in the country."It is the responsibility of the executive to implement the court’s directive order relating to the matter of public concern and legitimacy of laws but it is not aware about this fact," Chief Justice Shrestha said while addressing an interaction on ‘Good Governance and Justice’ jointly organised by the Office of Prime Minister and Administrative Court.Shrestha also noted that the Apex Court had to spend most of its resources and time to settle the writs filed questioning the legitimacy of administrative decisions."I urge the top bureaucrats to make their decisions legal, tansparent and accountable," he added.The Chief Justice said, "Until corruption is rooted out and zero corruption tolerance is created in the society, no efforts would be effective in regards to maintaining good governance and delivering justice no matter which political system the nation practices."Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire said that good governance and justice were complementary each other.Ghimire said many of social, economic and political problems were the result of bad governance,

which arose when the laws, regulations and institutional norms were not followed.The state has now become weakest in the history of Nepal which has thrown up more challenges to the bureaucracy to maintain good governance, he said."Both the political and administrative institutions, should be strong enough for the justice delivery in transition," he said adding that the role of state, market, civil society, media and NGO should be clearly defined to end chaos "But, sadly, they overlap and their roles have been messed up."To maintain transparency, he said, the government should ensure people’s right to information.Supreme Court Justice Kalyan Shrestha said that it was not enough to grant people with many rights, "What is more important is the building people’s capacity to exercise their right.""Good governance can’t be maintained just by enacting beautiful laws. There is the need of building the capacity of law-enforcing agencies," he added.Quoting the findings of World Bank, he said that when the capacity of law-enforcing agencies was enhanced, the GDP grew by 4.5 per cent.There is tendency among the political parties to voice for the implementation of court decision when they are in opposition but they neglect judiciary while in power, he added.Administrative Court chairman Kashi Raj Dahal said that the administration had challenge to maintain good governance and deliver justice despite being under pressure and political influence.Dahal said that the function aimed at sharing the views of experts on good governance and justice during transition.Administration expert Dr. Bhim Dev Bhatta and secretary at the office of Prime Minister Lila Mani Poudel presented their working papers at the interaction.The programme was fifth round of dialogue the Administrative Court organised in collaboration with FES-Nepal.

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GOVT. NOT IMPLEMENTING COURT ORDERS; CJ

Lalitpur, 18 Dec.:- Chief Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha Friday said that the government was not serious about implementing the orders and decision of court, which he said, had hampered on forcing good governance in the country, The Rising Nepal reports."It is the responsibility of the executive to implement the court’s directive order relating to the matter of public concern and legitimacy of laws but it is not aware about this fact," Chief Justice Shrestha said while addressing an interaction on ‘Good Governance and Justice’ jointly organised by the Office of Prime Minister and Administrative Court.Shrestha also noted that the Apex Court had to spend most of its resources and time to settle the writs filed questioning the legitimacy of administrative decisions."I urge the top bureaucrats to make their decisions legal, tansparent and accountable," he added.The Chief Justice said, "Until corruption is rooted out and zero corruption tolerance is created in the society, no efforts would be effective in regards to maintaining good governance and delivering justice no matter which political system the nation practices."Chief Secretary Madhav Ghimire said that good governance and justice were complementary each other.Ghimire said many of social, economic and political problems were the result of bad governance,

which arose when the laws, regulations and institutional norms were not followed.The state has now become weakest in the history of Nepal which has thrown up more challenges to the bureaucracy to maintain good governance, he said."Both the political and administrative institutions, should be strong enough for the justice delivery in transition," he said adding that the role of state, market, civil society, media and NGO should be clearly defined to end chaos "But, sadly, they overlap and their roles have been messed up."To maintain transparency, he said, the government should ensure people’s right to information.Supreme Court Justice Kalyan Shrestha said that it was not enough to grant people with many rights, "What is more important is the building people’s capacity to exercise their right.""Good governance can’t be maintained just by enacting beautiful laws. There is the need of building the capacity of law-enforcing agencies," he added.Quoting the findings of World Bank, he said that when the capacity of law-enforcing agencies was enhanced, the GDP grew by 4.5 per cent.There is tendency among the political parties to voice for the implementation of court decision when they are in opposition but they neglect judiciary while in power, he added.Administrative Court chairman Kashi Raj Dahal said that the administration had challenge to maintain good governance and deliver justice despite being under pressure and political influence.Dahal said that the function aimed at sharing the views of experts on good governance and justice during transition.Administration expert Dr. Bhim Dev Bhatta and secretary at the office of Prime Minister Lila Mani Poudel presented their working papers at the interaction.The programme was fifth round of dialogue the Administrative Court organised in collaboration with FES-Nepal.

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COUNTRY HEADED FOR NC-UML COALITION Kathmandu, 18 Dec.:: Following the UML central committee´s decision to open the option for a majority-based government, the country is irrevocably headed for a coalition government of the NC, UML and Madhesi parties, Ameet Dhakal writes in Republica. .

The UML´s decision opens up, at least theoretically, two possibilities. First, an NC-UML majority government, and second, a Maoist-UML majority government. Let´s take up the second possibility first. Many UML leaders still think that the ideal government at present would be a coalition between the UML and the Maoists, led by Jhalanath Khanal.

But the rub is, the NC´s prime ministerial candidate, Ram Chandra Paudel, will have to withdraw his candidacy first. "That´s not going to happen until there is an agreement between the NC and the UML to elect Paudel as the next prime minister" said an NC leader.

Latest developments in the Maoist party make a Maoist-UML coalition even less likely. Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya have joined hands, leaving another Vice-chairman, Baburam Bhattarai, out in the cold.

Will the UML, and more precisely Khanal, be ready to accept Paudel as prime minister? Yes, but only if the NC agrees to replace the government leadership with Khanal within some agreed timeframe.

Is the NC ready for that? "Since we don´t have a majority of our own, we will have to strike a deal with other parties and we are open for negotiations with the UML," said Paudel.

Actually, preliminary talks in this direction have already begun between the NC and UML, but a lot still needs to be negotiated. The NC wants Paudel to lead the next government until the peace process is completed under its leadership, something the UML is finding hard to buy.

"What if the peace process remains incomplete for the next several months, if not years?" asked an UML leader, adding, "And if the peace process is done with in the next few months, the Maoist party may have a legitimate claim to form a national consensus government".

UML leader Pradeep Gyawali says that the NC and UML can negotiate and agree on an entire range of issues; address each other´s concerns; and reach a comprehensive deal. "We can and must agree on the timeline of the peace process and at which point in time the transfer of leadership will take place," said Gyawali.

The negotiations won´t be easy and may take a long time, but negotiating an alternative coalition seems far more difficult, if not impossible. "We don´t have any option but to make this coalition happen," said an NC leader.

And if the NC and UML strike a deal the Madhesi and other fringe parties joining the coalition is almost a foregone conclusion. The only difficulty then would be to divide the portfolios among the parties, each vying for the plum ministries.

The likely course of politics ahead is this: The Maoist proposal to amend the regulations for electing the prime minister will be defeated in the special session since the UML has also decided to vote against it. Once the proposal is defeated, Paudel´s candidacy will remain intact and then the hectic negotiations between the UML and NC will begin.

Paudel doesn´t want to face uncertainty in the rough and tumble of politics and his preference would be to get elected as the next prime minister without having to withdraw his present candidacy. He doesn´t want to open up room where other candidates, including NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, may throw themselves into the fray.

But he is unlikely to get that. "We have publicly pledged, through a four-point agreement with the Maoists, not take part in the voting for prime minister until the present election process is scrapped and it will be morally difficult for us to dishonor that pledge," said Gyawali.

In the end, Paudel is likely to withdraw his candidacy once he is fully reassured, through a written, public agreement among the major parties to elect him as the next prime minister. Nnnn